In a draft Environmental Impact Statement (dEIS), the Forest Service has proposed an alternative (Alternative 2) that would limit drilling to certain areas within the Forest. Other options in the Forest Service’s dEIS include total restrictions on drilling in the Forest, no restrictions on drilling on any type of land, and drilling on grazing, grassland and shrublands. 

A Board vote to endorse a more stringent measure (Alternative 4) that would allow no leasing of any land, public or private, for drilling reasons – but that would not block potential federal permitting – was defeated 8-6. (Votes against recommending Alternative 4 were cast by Barbara Blanchard, Dooley Kiefer, Michael Lane, Peter Penniman, Frank Proto, Thomas Todd, George Totman, and Daniel Winch. Votes in favor were cast by Susanne Davis, Tim Joseph, Joseph Lally, Michael Koplinka-Loehr, Barbara Mink, Thomas Todd.) 

The 16,000-acre Finger Lakes National Forest is located in Schuyler and Seneca counties, but many Tompkins County residents use the land. 

BOARD APPROVES 2001-2002 TC-3 BUDGET
By unanimous vote (14-0; Rep. Nancy Schuler was absent), the Board approved Tompkins-Cortland Community College’s $18.42 million operating budget for 2001-2002. TC-3 receives support from Tompkins and Cortland counties in proportion to the enrollment from each county. Of the college’s total proposed budget, Tompkins County’s share is $2,092,802, representing a third-of-a-percent increase over last year. Cortland County’s share, approved by its legislature last week, is $1,338,448, up by about $60,000 from the previous year.

BOARD AGREES TO APPLY FOR FUNDS FOR NEW PROJECTS
By unanimous vote (14-0; Rep. Nancy Schuler was absent), the Board agreed that the County should apply for $300,000 in previously granted Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds not used in other projects. The funding would be used for a low-interest loan to Environmental Associates, Ltd., a Drdyen-based water-testing and research firm, for building and staff expansion. In a separate action, the Board unanimously agreed to apply for $750,000 in a Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) earmarked for a low-interest loan to Carpenter Business Park Development Project for infrastructure improvements. 

A hearing on the re-application for HUD funds will be held at 5:30 p.m., August 7, in the County Courthouse. Two hearings will be held on the Community Development Block Grant application, one on August 1 at a time to be announced, and the second at 5:30 p.m., August 7, in the County Courthouse.

In an associated resolution, the Board approved (13-1; Rep. Dooley Kiefer voted no; Rep. Nancy Schuler was absent) a low-interest loan of $200,000 to the Alternatives Fund of Ithaca, Inc., a project of the Alternatives Federal Credit Union that provides training for small business owners. 

TOURISM GRANTS BOOST EVENTS WEBSITE, WINTER TOURISM
Two tourism grants, funded by the local tax on hotel and motel rooms, were unanimously approved by the Board. The Community Arts Partnership will receive $25,000 to market its events website, ithacaevents.com. The grant is a 100 percent match to a New York State Council for the Arts grant for the same purpose. The Convention & Visitors Bureau was granted $14,000 for a program to promote winter tourism in Tompkins County. 

BOARD ACCEPTS TRAINING GRANT FOR JOBLESS, LOW-INCOME WORKERS
The Board unanimously approved acceptance of a $756,500 state grant that will be used to help 195 unemployed or low-paid workers in Tompkins Count increase job skills in marketable fields such as computing, construction, and manufacturing. The grant was awarded to the Tompkins County Workforce Development Board by the Department of Labor under its InVEST Job Start Program. 
 

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